Saints coach Sean Payton has a higher power on his side

New Orleans coach Patrick Sean Payton had a higher power helping him in the Super Bowl which I think can got him across the line.

He is named after an Irishman known variously as "The Miracle Priest" and the "Rosary Priest."

So if its fourth and goal on the final play expect Payton to be on his knees to his namesake who can surely ensure victory. A rosary, a miracle or a hail mary might be needed at some point too. The coaches, kids Megan and Connor, sure hope it won't come to that.

The New Orleans coach, a Chicago area native, is named after the Irish Catholic priest, Fr. Patrick Peyton, known as the famous "rosary priest," who may also have performed miracles.

Fr. Peyton, a Mayo native who died in 1992, would be pleased that a boy named after him ended up leading a team called the Saints to the Super Bowl.

Fr. Peyton was famous for his devotion to the Knock Shrine in County Mayo where Our Lady is said to have appeared to locals in 1879. Pope John Paul showed up there in 1979 to celebrate the miracle.

Now Sean Payton has pulled of another miracle, leading the hapless Saints who have been in the NFL since 1967 and never been to the Super Bowl. Not only that, they were the worst team in the league for many of those years.

Will he join other great Irish coaches, Bill Parcells (birth name Bill O'Shea) Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan to name a few who have lifted the Super Bowl trophy?The answer is yes if Father Peyton has anything to do with it.